Porsche 911 GT3 Cup first drive review

Just like Richie Benaud’s choice of jackets, there’s a Porsche 911 to suit every occasion.

While you could hardly call any of them beige (or off-white or bone), the German sports car maker has developed a cupboard full of variants of its iconic coupe with, in the previous-generation Type 997, more than 20 different models, ranging from the standard Carrera through Turbo and Cabriolet versions, as well as the Targa, road racer GT3 and GT2 versions and countless limited edition spin-offs.

At last count, there are already 14 variations of the newest Type 991, and the latest to arrive in Australia is the 911 GT3 Cup, the pure-bred racer that will take to the track for the 2014 Australian Carrera Cup championship.

It is the most focussed – and selfish – 911 variant of them all, as you can only purchase one if you commit to racing in the series, being left-hand drive it obviously can’t be driven on the road and it only comes with one seat.

Despite that, it is already a sell-out success with Porsche Cars Australia filling the entire 25-car grid before the season commences at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on February 27.

Its popularity is not surprising considering the Cup car is actually cheaper than the road-going GT3 on which it is based, costing around $260,000 including a package of spare parts. The Carrera Cup attracts big names such as V8 Supercar drivers Steven Richards, Warren Luff and five-time champion Craig Baird and is the most successful one-make series in the world with Porsche building more than 2300 Cup cars since it was introduced in 1993.

The latest version brings some of the most radical changes ever introduced to the competition, with a range of improvements designed to make the car easier and faster to drive and cheaper and quicker to repair.

Like all 911 variants, the GT3 Cup has an additional 100mm within its wheelbase that ensures it is more stable and is powered, for the first time, by the latest direct-injection 3.8-litre flat six that produces 338kW at a dizzying 8500rpm and drives the rear wheels through a mechanical limited slip diff. As it is with the road-going GT3, the Cup car has ditched its manual gearbox for a paddle-shifter transmission, but rather than being a seven-speed dual-clutcher it is a race-bred, pneumatically-activated six speed developed specifically for the track.

With more lightweight materials in its construction, and a stripped-out cabin complete with a full roll cage, racing seat and all the safety gear required for competition, the GT3 Cup tips the scales at just 1175kg – which is lighter than most city-sized hatchbacks.

That much is evident even before I even jump behind the wheel for an eight-lap stint around Sydney Motorsport Park, when I fling open the carbon fibre door that feels as light as a feather. Like most race cars, getting in to the cockpit is hardly an elegant process as I contort my body through the roll cage and drop bum first into the low-slung and tight-fitting race seat.

But, even though I’m on the wrong side of the car and the small suede steering wheel is littered with buttons, the 911’s traditional five-gauge instrument binnacle is replaced with a space-age digital display and the carbon fibre centre console has as many toggle switches as a small aeroplane, there is a sense of familiarity about its cabin. Both the seat and steering wheel are adjustable so you can find the perfect driving position and, once tightly strapped into the six-point harness and ready to go, it feels like, well… a Porsche.

The starting process, however, is a little more complicated than a regular 911. Instead of twisting a key, you’ve got to flick a switch to activate the power, then another for the ignition system before pressing a starter button on the left side of the dash. And, even though it has a paddle shift gearbox, it still has a clutch pedal that’s required to get off the line.

Like the previous road-going GT3, it’s a heavy unit with instant bite and the engine’s lightweight flywheel means it requires a delicate set of feet to get it moving. After a few embarrassingly failed attempts, I give it a few more revs and stumble out of pitlane for the first time and, after pressing the button to de-activate the pitlane speed limiter, hit the circuit.

Before its massive 10.5-inch front and 12-inch rear slicks heat-up, I use the first few corners to familiarise myself with the gearbox. The tiny carbon-fibre paddles are perfectly placed at your fingertips and require barely a flick to shift through the cogs, cracking a taller gear at lightning speed with barely any interruption in power and automatically blipping the throttle on the way down for maximum engine braking.

As the grip rises, so does my confidence and as I start to push harder, the GT3 Cup simply comes alive. The engine is deliciously smooth in the way it delivers its power, with instant throttle response to tap into its generous mid-range which rapidly rises to a wailing crescendo as it screams towards its 8500rpm rev limiter.

There’s no tacho as such, but a series a lights that illuminate across the top of the digital dash indicates when it’s time to pull the next gear. There’s no speedo either, but data extracted from the car’s computer back in the pits proved the GT3 Cup topped out at 254km/h down Sydney Motorsport Park’s long front straight.

Or at least that’s as fast I was willing to push it before a quick dab on the brakes was needed to wash off enough speed to slice through turn one at more than 180km/h.

As far as its power and speed is concerned, a road-going 911 Turbo S feels more savage and is probably just as quick in a straight line, but through the corners the GT3 Cup is something else altogether. It still has all the rear-engined handling traits of a typical 911, in that the front-end gets light under heavy acceleration and can pogo across the bumps and the rear-end can quickly snap sideways when it loses traction, but thanks to the combination of its lightweight body, mega downforce, pin-sharp steering and those super-sticky Michelin slick tyres its limit of grip is at a stratospheric level.

Porsche claims the improvements in the 991 GT3 Cup will offer a more level playing field between the professional front runners and the cashed-up gentleman racers that make up the rest of the Carrera Cup field, and after a couple of laps behind the wheel that’s easy to see as, in race car terms, it is actually quite easy to drive – to a point.

For those 25 racers lucky enough to have one, I'm envious as it is, by far, the most exciting 911 in the cupboard - even if it does only come in white.